"Ha... ha... ha..."

Caelum slowly opened his eyes and found himself once again upon the same circular platform.

The silver radiance from before had already vanished, leaving only silence behind.

After steadying his breathing, he looked around and noticed Zusur quietly staring at him.

"You lost," the knight stated calmly.

Caelum wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth before glancing at the increasingly transparent figure of the knight.

"Why do you look like you’re about to disappear?" he asked while getting back onto his feet.

Zusur remained silent for a moment before giving a bitter smile.

"Even I find it strange," he admitted quietly.

"To experience enlightenment only after death... it almost feels as though my entire life was wasted."

His expression was incredibly complex.

After all, the final insight he obtained had not come from decades of warfare or knighthood, but from exchanging swords with a seven-year-old child carrying bizarre principles within his swordsmanship.

Caelum, however, focused on the most important matter first.

"So... am I getting your inheritance or not?" he asked directly.

Zusur looked at him for several moments before replying.

"No."

Caelum froze completely.

For a brief moment, he genuinely believed he had misheard the answer.

After all, he was seven years old, had survived that frozen land, reached this place, and even fought a battle with a dead knight.

He had also nearly coughed out all his internal organs during the fight.

And after all that.

"No?"

A dangerous smile slowly appeared on Caelum’s face.

"Haha..." he laughed quietly in growing anger.

At that moment, he genuinely wanted to punch the shameless knight directly in the face.

Seeing Caelum’s expression changing every second, Zusur quickly corrected himself.

"...I mean you can inherit my enlightenment, but not my actual inheritance."

"?"

Caelum looked even more confused than before.

’Doesn’t that mean almost the same thing?’ he thought suspiciously.

Seeing the obvious doubt on the boy’s face, Zusur sighed before continuing his explanation.

"What I mean is this," the knight clarified.

"Aside from my main sword technique, I believe you are qualified to inherit everything else I learned upon the path of the sword."

Then his tone became more serious.

"And in return... I have a request for you."

Before continuing further, Zusur suddenly paused.

"Child, I never asked for your name."

"I’m Caelum."

"Caelum..." Zusur repeated softly before nodding.

"As you already know, I am Zusur, a Knight of Karthenheim."

A trace of longing appeared within his eyes.

"There are countless questions I wish to ask about the outside world, but for now, answer me only this..."

His voice became heavier.

"Does Karthenheim still exist?"

Caelum hesitated slightly before answering honestly.

"...No kingdom or empire in the current era has the name Karthenheim."

Silence followed.

"I see..." Zusur muttered softly.

His figure became noticeably more transparent afterward.

Then he slowly raised his hand.

In the next instant, an overwhelming flood of knowledge poured directly into Caelum’s mind.

Swordsmanship.

Combat experience.

Insights.

Principles.

Techniques.

Aura Cultivation Method.

Battle instincts accumulated across an entire lifetime surged toward him endlessly.

"You already carry far greater legacies than mine," Zusur said in a distant voice.

"So perhaps my inheritance itself does not matter much to you."

Then he smiled faintly.

"But if you ever encounter someone truly worthy... pass my legacy onward."

Caelum silently listened.

"And I have also removed the restrictions upon my main technique," Zusur continued.

"You may use it as well. Consider that my final gift to you."

By now, the entire mental space had already begun collapsing from the edges.

Cracks spread through the circular platform while the surroundings slowly dissolved into darkness.

"And one final thing, I have already mapped a path for you to escape that frozen land." Zusur added.

Caelum immediately focused.

"You must first find the Temple of Freeza," the knight explained.

"From there, an Old Dragon residing nearby can safely guide you out of that place."

Then, for the first time since meeting him, Zusur gave Caelum a genuine smile.

"This is farewell then... young Caelum."

And with those final words, the knight disappeared completely.

At the same time, the entire mental space collapsed into nothingness.

***

Caelum slowly opened his eyes and found himself back inside the same frozen cave.

The blood-written book resting in his hands had already begun crumbling apart.

Its pages turned into gray dust one after another before scattering into the air like ashes carried away by the wind.

Caelum quietly watched the ancient book disappear.

Then his gaze drifted outside the cave entrance.

Night still covered the snowy mountains, while nearby, Bonjour remained asleep without noticing anything that had happened.

Only after confirming that nothing unusual had changed did Caelum finally turn his attention toward the black-gold system notification floating before him.

——————

Quest (Completed)

Description: Obtain the inheritance of the Grand-Knight Zusur. A Great inheritance in front of your eyes, how can you think twice before trying to obtain it. Your path to becoming a true cultivator is bleak!

Rewards: 35,000 System Points

Failure: Mental Death.

——————

Caelum’s eyes brightened slightly.

He had actually completed the quest.

And more importantly, thirty-five thousand System Points had been rewarded at once.

’The inheritance of a Grand Knight alone gave just this many System Points, the future really does look troublesome...’ he thought while feeling slightly complicated.

Still, his excitement quickly surpassed those thoughts.

Without hesitation, he immediately opened the System Shop and purchased one particular item that had caught his attention for quite some time.

——————

Natal Sword Seed — 10,000 SP

A sword seed that grows alongside the cultivator over time and forms a unique bond with the user’s soul.

——————

The moment he purchased it, ten thousand System Points vanished from his balance.

At the same time, a tiny rice-sized seed suddenly appeared within his Primordial Chaos Core.

Despite its size, the seed radiated an extremely sharp and mysterious aura.

’I’ll need to refine it slowly...’ Caelum thought while observing it carefully through his Spirit Sense.

Then another thought crossed his mind.

Since he had already arrived in a frozen land filled with ice-related beasts and ice energy, perhaps this was also a good opportunity to strengthen his cultivation further.

So after thinking briefly, he mentally commanded the System Shop to filter items related to ice.

Although the system usually behaved strangely, Caelum already understood that it possessed a certain degree of semi-consciousness.

And to his surprise, it actually responded properly.

The enormous endless list inside the shop immediately changed as countless items related to frost, cold, and ice began appearing before his eyes.